


Good Ideas, Bad Ideas, and Something In Between

by NoLifePoints (Vesperbat)



Series: University AU [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Drunk Dueling and Sober Sex, M/M, Post-Canon, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-11 14:05:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10466745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesperbat/pseuds/NoLifePoints
Summary: Jounouchi invites Kaiba to drink with him, inviting himself to Kaiba's hotel suite in the process. They never meant to get drunk,  but one thing leads to another.For example, a shot contest leads to drunken dueling and falling asleep on the floor. Falling asleep on the floor leads to awkward sober tension. Awkward sober tension leads to...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There is implied sex toward the end of the story, but it isn't explicit. Sorry. :P

Kaiba watched as Jounouchi tried to suck a particularly large tapioca pearl through the bottom of his straw. “Are you _listening_?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jounouchi replied. He launched the pearl at Kaiba like a dart, though it splatted onto the table. Had it actually touched him, there might have been blood. "Something, something, you can't stop worrying about Mokuba even though he's doing perfectly fine." 

Glaring, Kaiba said, “If you can’t take this seriously, I have things to do.”

Jounouchi grinned. “Who’s not being serious? It’s our fourth date, right? When are you taking me back to your place?” He finished with an exaggerated wink.

Kaiba took a long sip of coffee, determined not to take the bait. He wasn’t entirely sure _what_ he would call these little outings. Even that word seemed too social. A meeting – that was it. A simple business transaction. Mokuba was never willing to let Kaiba think that he was anything less than fine. If something happened, he might never know. He needed an insider.

Unfortunately, there was only one available, and he was looking at him. Tapping his fingernail on the table, Kaiba said, “I mean it. I’m not here for my health. This is about-”

“I’d suggest mine,” Jounouchi continued, “but that might be awkward. You know. Roommate.”

Kaiba threw a half-eaten biscotti at Jounouchi’s face. The mass of blond hair softened the blow, causing it to ricochet down onto the table. Jounouchi picked up it up, considered it, and took a bite. “I mean it, though,” he said, mouth full. “Kind of. You like to drink?”

Kaiba winced. His _mouth_ had been on that. The question cut through his distraction, and his gaze snapped up again. “Hm?”

“To be honest, I don’t,” said Jounouchi, “unless other people are doing it. Drinking alone sucks. But the other day, I came across this craft beer – some local thing.” He leaned across the table, almost conspiratorial. “It’s supposed to taste like apple pie.”

“That sounds disgusting,” said Kaiba, nose wrinkling into a sneer. “Who would want to taint their mouth with something so foul?”

Jououchi made a fist, as if snatching something invisible out of the air. “It sounds _awesome._ ”

“Why am I not surprised?” Kaiba rolled his eyes. “Get to the point, already.”

Jounouchi pointed at Kaiba with the remaining portion of biscotti. “I need someone to drink with. Mokuba won’t feel left out if I go somewhere else, and he probably wouldn’t mind having the dorm to himself for an evening, anyway.” He let Mokuba poach a drink on occasion (not that Kaiba needed to know), but it didn’t feel right to offer right now – not since the beer pong incident. As far as he knew, Mokuba had avoided the stuff since then.

“Don’t you have any _friends_?” Kaiba smirked, certain of victory.

Jounouchi just laughed. “Like you were my first choice. It seems like everybody but me has some big test to study for.”  
  
Kaiba scowled. Realizing how much the response irritated him only irritated him more. Who would want to be Jounouchi’s first choice for anything? And yet… his fist clenched at his side. “As if I’m not far busier. Still… a change of scenery wouldn’t hurt. It might be a step up from being seen with you in public.”

Jounouchi, who had given up the straw to eat tapioca pearls off his fingers like olives, was only proving his point. He looked up and smiled. "Then it’s a date.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and took a sip of gin and tonic. “How can you drink that?”

“It’s not good,” Jounouchi said, taking a swig from an opaque bottle, “but it ain’t bad, either.” He leaned over, sniffing at Kaiba’s cup. “I bet this is the good shit, though...”

Kaiba jerked the glass away, splashing gin up over the rim. “I’m not going to lower my standards on anyone else's account.” He wouldn’t waste good sake or wine on an occasion like this, but the gin was still top shelf.

Jounouchi rubbed his nose furiously, fending off the burn. When he looked up, though, he grinned like a child about to eat a mudpie. “Hey, give it here. I’m gonna mix them and see how bad it tastes.” He leaned over Kaiba and grabbed at the bottle sitting on the end table. “Like a mini-suicide.”

“You will not,” snapped Kaiba, sliding the bottle out of his reach. “What the hell are you thinking?”

“That you’re a complete and total drag,” said Jounouchi, collapsing back and huffing.

Kaiba took another draught, slower this time, savoring it in front of him. “Not a shred of fun in my body. If you don’t like it, the door is right there.” He couldn’t fathom why Jounouchi had thought this would be better than drinking alone.

“Hah. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “I could be rid of you in a second if I wanted to be.”

Jounouchi covered his mouth, eyes lighting. He looked as if he had just hit upon the world’s biggest secret.

Kaiba glanced at him. “What?”

“If you wanted to be. _If_.”

“Ugh. You know that’s not what I meant. I think I’m a little too sober to deal with you right now.” Kaiba drained the rest of his glass in one shot.

Jounouchi leaned back and watched him drink, nodding appraisingly. “Hmm. Not bad, not bad. Bet I could do that way faster, though. It’s not really a shot if you don’t.”  
  
“What? This is exactly the kind of asinine thinking that got Mokuba in over his head. I swear, if you ever bring him to one of those things again, I’ll-”

“Hey! I couldn't stop him, so I kept an eye on him instead. Dragged his ass back home when he overdid it, too.” Jounouchi held up a fresh bottle of beer. “Anyway, we on or not?”

Kaiba blinked. “On for what?”

“For a little contest. Color me curious… I wanna see if a pampered rich boy like you can go hard.” Jounouchi shrugged. “If you’re scared, I understand.”

Kaiba snorted. “Not a thing in this world can scare me, least of all you. It’s just a waste of time.”

“So what? I’m calling you out, Kaiba. I’m issuing a formal challenge.” Jounouchi grinned as Kaiba’s brows rose. The magic words. “All I wanna know is, who can slam a drink faster?”

“Hah. Ridiculous. If you want to be reminded of the difference between us that badly...” Kaiba stood and returned with another highball glass, which he tossed at Jounouchi. “To even the amounts. Since we’re testing for speed, not stamina, it shouldn’t matter what’s in them. You’ve got a stronger beer, so given the ratio of gin to tonic, I believe we’re roughly matched for alcohol content, anyway.”

Jounouchi stared at the glass in his hand. “Oh – yeah, right.” When Kaiba got serious, he got serious.

They each filled their glasses and downed them on the count of three. Only afterward did they realize their problem: they had no referee.

“I’m pretty sure it was me,” said Jounouchi, panting.

Kaiba shook his head. “I won. Without question.”

“Fine. We’re just gonna have to do it again,” said Jounouchi, refilling his glass.

“If that’s what it takes. Actually watch me this time.”

“Same to you!”

So it continued. They tried taking turns so that one could properly gauge the other’s speed, but results were still inconclusive. Inhibitions waned with each glass, as did their ability to judge. By the time they thought of using their phones as stopwatches, they had trouble drinking and starting the clock at the same time.

Finally, one of them produced a deck, and the contest was abandoned in favor of Duel Monsters – with continued drinking. Jounouchi had gotten hold of the gin by then, and there was no more mixing for either of them.

“Ba- shit.” Jounouchi picked up the card he had dropped. “Baby Dragon!”

“Hah. Pathetic! You want to see a _real_ dragon?” Kaiba slammed a Blue Eyes onto the coffee table and swiped an arm through the air, nearly knocking over his highball. “Go! Blue Eyes! Burst Stream of Destruction!”

Jounouchi squinted at the field. “Wait. Did you sacrifice..?”

Kaiba blinked at his graveyard and tried to recall. Ultimately, it didn't matter. Several turns later, Kaiba lost track of their life points entirely and declared himself the winner.

Jounouchi was just drunk enough to take his word for it. “Goddamn,” he slurred, pounding the floor with a fist. “I can’t believe you won… again!”

Kaiba collapsed back against the couch and rocked with laughter. “Face me again when you learn how to play! You… you _loser_.” Jounouchi tackled him then, though it was less of a tackle and more of a flop. One small push had him rolling on his back. Somehow, his knee wound up hooked over Kaiba’s, and neither of them cared enough to correct it.

With the duel finished, their frenzied energy gave way to lethargy. It was late. They were drunk. Moving again now seemed like an arduous ordeal, an unnecessary expenditure of energy. No, there was no need to move... so they didn't. Silence fell, and the two of them drifted into an easy slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaiba rubbed at the carpet impressions on his cheek and forced himself into a sitting position. “Ugh.”

“Morning,” Jounouchi yawned up from the floor. He had pulled away at some point, disentangling their legs. “What a night.”

“If you can remember it,” Kaiba scoffed, rolling his shoulders.

“Well… mostly.” Jounouchi’s brow furrowed. “You won that duel?”

“Obviously!” Kaiba cringed at his own voice.

Jounouchi frowned. “You okay there?”

“What does it look like?” Kaiba asked, teeth gritted. Warmth washed over his skin, and his eyes slitted open to Jounouchi’s hand on his forehead. The warmth sunk deeper, licking at the edges of his pounding headache. As he relaxed, Jounouchi began to idly stroke his forehead. “What are you...”

“Oh.” Jounouchi blinked, hand retreating. “Sorry. I forget we’re not...” They remained where they were, eyes not meeting. Clearing his throat, he said, “Hey, it could be worse. At least we didn’t decide to play strip poker.”

“Of course we-” Kaiba’s eyes screwed shut. “Damn it.”

“Aw, calm down. You’re hurting yourself.” Jounouchi touched his forehead again, hesitant at first, and watched the tension in Kaiba’s face melt away. He sighed. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Right. Your idea of humor.”

Glancing at Kaiba’s closed eyes, his slightly parted lips, Jounouchi felt a stab of longing. Red tinged his face, and there wasn’t a drop of alcohol left in his system to blame it on. “Then again…”  
  
Kaiba peered at him. Being touched like this – so _gently_ – had several different instincts warring within his chest:

_Pull away. Don’t pull away. Move in. Stay still._

In the end, he stayed still, regarding Jounouchi with unconcealed curiosity. “Then again?”

For once, Jounouchi stopped to consider his phrasing. “On another planet,” he said, “or maybe after a lot of alcohol, sometimes bad ideas start to sound like good ones.”

Kaiba’s fingers twisted at the thick fibers of the carpet. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

All the time, Jounouchi had never moved his hand from Kaiba’s forehead. The absurdity of the situation settled over them, yet neither could stop it now. Neither wanted to.

“C’mere,” he said. “I’ll show you.”

They didn’t embrace so much as brace against each other, and the kiss was an ungraceful crush of dry, cracked lips. The alcohol left their breath thick and stale, and the heat of their mouths was nearly too much. Any pleasure was undercut by the faint, throbbing pressure in their heads.

Jounouchi pulled away and looked at his knees, stomach twisting with abrupt anxiety. “Not exactly fireworks,” he said, forcing a smile. It only made him look more deflated.

Kaiba touched his lips and stared at his fingertips, as if Jounouchi might have left a mark there. Some trace of himself.

“I...” Jounouchi swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”

“You keep apologizing,” said Kaiba. “What does it matter? Did you do anything worth apologizing for?” Kaiba turned away, fixing his glare on a potted plant across the room.

“I don’t know what you want. I don’t even know what I want.” Jounouchi rifled his hands through his disheveled hair, mussing it even further.

Kaiba scoffed. “Do you ever? From where I stand, it looks like you just do the first thing that comes into your head. It hardly takes a breeze to change your course.”

“Sometimes I know. I’m not like you, though. You set your eyes on a prize, and suddenly you can’t see anything else. Nothing else matters!”

Kaiba spun toward him, eyes flashing with anger. “What you’re talking about is called drive, and it’s gotten me this far, hasn’t it? Hasn’t it?”

Jounouchi froze. What were they talking about, really? He ran his hands over his face. There were too many things he could say. Too many things he shouldn’t say.

But if he didn’t say them now… would he ever?

Ignoring the hammering in his chest, Jounouchi forged on. “Yeah. I guess it has. Can I tell you what I think, though?”

Kaiba’s lips twisted into a faint smile, though the fire in his eyes never receded. “Go ahead. You always do.”

“You’re lonely as fuck, Kaiba. I doubt you’d be here if you weren’t. The things you wanted are either gone or changing, and you don’t know what to cling to anymore. So…” His trembling hands balled into fists. “So cling to me a little. I know I'm not a great substitute, but I'm here. I'm here, and I'm warm, and I really don't mind.”

Kaiba’s eyes widened, the emotion in his face falling away into a blank mask of surprise. Jounouchi winced at the familiar expression. He hadn't meant to short-circuit him. “Never mind,” Jounouchi said. “I just… I’m here. That’s all.”

Kaiba dropped his gaze. “I need a shower.” He got to his feet and tried in vain to smooth his shirt. It had been pressed and pristine when he answered his door yesterday, but it was rumpled now, unbuttoned at the collar.

That was it, then. Everything would fall back into the normal routine. Jounouchi was sure of it. “Can I come?” he asked, his smile thin.

"If you want."

Jounouchi swiveled around so fast he fell backward, bumping against the couch. Kaiba wasn’t looking at him, so there was no way to gauge his expression. He lingered at the mouth of the hall, massaging his wrist and fiddling with his shirt cuff.

“If that’s- if it's okay-” Evidently, it wasn't as much of a joke as Jounouchi had thought. He was too stunned to even get flustered.

Kaiba nodded and slipped into the hall. Jounouchi followed, letting a hand rest on Kaiba’s back while he opened the bathroom door. His back was smaller than Jounouchi might have imagined – an efficient build, trim and taut with muscle. Jounouchi wanted to wrap his hands around the slender waist, to run them along the pronounced shoulder blades…

Maybe he would, provided Kaiba didn’t change his mind. Provided that any of this was real. They were standing on the edge of a dream, viewing reality through a layer of gauze. As the door clicked shut behind them, though, everything grew a little more solid.

Kaiba fingered the buttons of his shirt, opening them with all the urgency of a drifting glacier. Jounouchi pressed against him, grazing the back of his neck with his lips. “Are you shy?” he asked. Kaiba made a noncommittal noise in response. “You… sure you want to do this?”

“I’m sure.” No hesitation.

“Then take your time,” said Jounouchi, reaching around to stroke Kaiba’s hand. He needed time to thaw. To be warmed.

“Hm.” Kaiba took Jounouchi’s hand and looked at it, appraising. He placed it against his chest. “You do it.”

Jounouchi’s heart jumped. “Oh- er- okay.” He had managed to keep his cool so far, but now he felt the heat building. With shaking hands, Jounouchi undid each button. His position didn’t make it any easier, but Jounouchi got the sense that it wasn’t time to look Kaiba in the eye. Not yet. The last button fell open, and Jounouchi’s hand hovered in the air. Kaiba took it again and pressed it to his collarbone.

As he buried his nose in the nape of Kaiba’s neck, his lungs filled with the scent of sweat and booze clinging to both of them. It should have been more unpleasant than it was. His lingering headache, on the other hand, cried out for the hottest water these pipes could muster. But before they could hit the water...

Kaiba nudged out of his grasp and peeled off the shirt, folding it neatly and placing it on the edge of the marble sink. Jounouchi reached out to run his hands over the bare skin, the faint white scars. Kaiba shivered, straightening. Jounouchi grinned and drew a finger down the length of Kaiba's spine. His back arched reflexively, and he glanced back, eyes narrowed.

“Sorry. It was...” He might have said "cute," but he didn’t want to risk irritating Kaiba further. “I had to.”

Kaiba paused. “You’re not going to ask?”

Jounouchi shook his head. “Nah. If you wanted to talk about it, you would.” He hadn’t noticed how tense Kaiba’s shoulders were until he relaxed them. He turned then, and Jounouchi’s eyes drifted over the length of his chest. He swallowed. “So... this is happening.”

Kaiba leaned against the sink. “I thought I’d try doing the first thing that came into my head.”

Jounouchi flushed. “How’s that working out for you?”

“I don’t know,” Kaiba said, reaching for Jounouchi, grasping the hem of his shirt. “Further exploration needed. This is what you'd call a bad idea, I suppose... but what do you think? Are we on another planet?"

"I don't know," Jounouchi repeated, raising his arms. "Further exploration needed."


End file.
